Apparatus and methods for wireless channel sounding

ABSTRACT

A technique of operating a wireless communication device includes receiving an assigned starting point index and an assigned reference signal bandwidth for a reference signal. The reference signal is then transmitted multiple times, beginning at an initial resource block that is associated with the assigned starting point index and in accordance with the assigned reference signal bandwidth, across a shared channel.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit ofpriority from, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/839,223, entitled“Apparatus and Methods for Wireless Channel Sounding” and filed on Dec.12, 2017, which is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of priorityfrom, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/420,688 (now U.S. Pat. No.9,853,788, issued on Dec. 26, 2017), entitled “Apparatus and Methods forWireless Channel Sounding” and filed on Jan. 31, 2017, which is acontinuation of, and claims the benefit of priority from, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/860,926 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,603,157, issued onMar. 21, 2017), entitled “Apparatus and Methods for Wireless ChannelSounding” and filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which is a continuation of, andclaims the benefit of priority from, U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/944,203, of the same title and filed on Jul. 17, 2013 (now U.S. Pat.No. 9,148,886, issued on Sep. 29, 2015), which is a continuation of, andclaims the benefit of priority from, U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/233,539, of the same title and filed on Sep. 15, 2011 (now U.S. Pat.No. 8,730,890, issued on May 20, 2014), which is a continuation of, andclaims the benefit of priority from, U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/057,514, entitled “Techniques for Channel Sounding in a WirelessCommunication System” and filed on Mar. 28, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,160,008, issued on Apr. 17, 2012), all of which are fully incorporatedherein by reference for all purposes.

The claims in the instant application are different than those of theparent application or other related applications. The Applicanttherefore rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope made in the parentapplication or any predecessor application in relation to the instantapplication. The Examiner is therefore advised that any such previousdisclaimer and the cited references that it was made to avoid, may needto be revisited. Further, any disclaimer made in the instant applicationshould not be read into or against the parent application or otherrelated applications.

BACKGROUND Field of the Application

This disclosure relates generally to channel sounding and, morespecifically, to techniques for channel sounding in a wirelesscommunication system.

Background of the Disclosure

Various wireless networks have used an estimated received signalstrength and an estimated carrier to interference and noise ratio (CINR)of a received signal to determine operational characteristics of thenetworks. As one example, IEEE 802.16e compliant mobile stations (MSs)are required to estimate a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) anda CINR of a received signal. The RSSI associated with a serving basestation (BS) may be used by an MS for cell re-selection and the CINR,which is reported to the serving BS, may be used by the serving BS toadapt a downlink transmission rate to link conditions.

Accurate reported CINRs are desirable, as inaccurate reported CINRs mayimpact performance of a wireless network. For example, reporting a CINRthat is above an actual CINR may decrease network throughput due toframe re-transmission, while reporting a CINR that is below the actualCINR may cause the serving BS to schedule data rates below a supportabledata rate. According to IEEE 802.16e, RSSI and CINR estimates at an MSare derived based on a preamble signal, which is an orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access (OFDMA) symbol that is transmitted at thebeginning of each OFDMA frame.

Wireless networks that employ third-generation partnership projectlong-term evolution (3GPP-LTE) compliant architectures are currentlyrequired to employ uplink sounding reference signals (RSs) for uplinkCINR estimation, which is used by the network to schedule uplinktransmission for user equipment (subscriber stations (SSs)). Respectivesequences of the RSs are used to uniquely identify an SS and, whentransmitted from the SS to a serving base station (BS), may be used bythe serving BS in channel characterization. A known channel sounding(channel characterization) approach has proposed limiting a channelsounding bandwidth of cell-edge SSs, i.e., SSs operating at or near anedge of a cell, to reduce interference with neighboring cells and toimprove uplink CINR estimation. In this approach, cell-edge SSs sound aportion of a system bandwidth in one sounding symbol and employfrequency hopping to cover the entire system bandwidth using multiplesounding symbols. Following this approach, non-cell-edge SSs are allowedto sound the entire system bandwidth with a single sounding symbol. Ingeneral, the above-described approach increases system bandwidthrequirements (due to increased scheduling overhead), results inincreased inter-cell interference (due to higher power spectral density(PSD) associated with narrower bandwidths), and does not generallyimprove channel estimation accuracy.

Various other proposals have advocated employing multiple soundingbandwidths, one of which is selected by a scheduler, for sounding a ULchannel associated with an SS. As currently agreed, 3GPP-LTE compliantBSs are configured to signal a number of associated channel soundingcontrol bits (to SSs) on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).The SSs decode the channel sounding control bits to determine anappropriate sounding RS for transmission. The channel sounding controlbits may specify parameters such as a sounding bandwidth (BW), a cyclicshift (CS), and a hopping pattern (HP), among other signalcharacteristics, to designate a particular sounding RS for transmissionfrom a given SS.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and is notlimited by the accompanying figures, in which like references indicatesimilar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicityand clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a frequency diagram of an example uplink (UL) channel thatincludes a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) that is divided by aphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) that is sounded according to oneaspect of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a frequency diagram of another example UL channel thatincludes a PUCCH (at one end of the UL channel) and a PUSCH that issounded according to another aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a frequency diagram of yet another example UL channel thatincludes a PUCCH (at an opposite end of the UL channel as contrastedwith the UL channel of FIG. 2) and a PUSCH that is sounded according toyet another aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example channel sounding technique employedby a subscriber station (SS), according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example channel sounding technique employedby a serving base station (BS), according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example wireless communication systemthat may sound a UL shared channel according to various embodiments ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of theinvention, specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled inthe art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized and that logical, architectural,programmatic, mechanical, electrical and other changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Thefollowing detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in alimiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined onlyby the appended claims and their equivalents. In particular, althoughthe preferred embodiment is described below in conjunction with asubscriber station, such as a cellular handset, it will be appreciatedthat the present invention is not so limited and may be embodied invarious wireless communication devices.

As used herein, the term “channel” includes one or more subcarriers,which may be adjacent or distributed across a frequency band. Moreover,the term “channel” may include an entire system bandwidth or a portionof the entire system bandwidth. The term, “resource block,” as usedherein, includes a number of subcarriers (e.g., twelve subcarriers)which may or may not be adjacent. As used herein, the term “referencesignal” may correspond to a demodulation or a sounding reference (RS)signal. As used herein, the term “demodulation RS” means an RS that isassigned to (and transmitted by) a subscriber station (SS), received bya serving base station (BS), and used by the serving BS for channelestimation. As used herein, the term “sounding RS” means an RS that isassigned to (and transmitted by) an SS, received by a serving BS, andused by a scheduler to assign a UL channel to the SS. As is used herein,the terms “wide-bandwidth” and “narrow-bandwidth” are relative termswith a “wide-bandwidth” RS having more assigned resource blocks (RBs)than a “narrow-bandwidth” RS. As is also used herein, the term“subscriber station” is synonymous with the term “user equipment,” whichincludes a wireless communication device that may (or may not) bemobile.

A demodulation RS is associated with transmission of uplink data and/orcontrol signals. In contrast, a sounding RS is not usually associatedwith uplink data transmission. Usually, a demodulation RS is used toestimate a UL shared channel before decoding data transmitted on the ULshared channel. In this case, the demodulation RS has the same bandwidthas the data and occupies the same set of subcarriers as the data. UL RSsmay be based on Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequences, which are non-binaryunit-amplitude sequences. Typically, ZC sequences have ideal cyclicautocorrelation and, as such, ZC sequences are constant amplitude zeroautocorrelation (CAZAC) sequences. Cyclic shifted versions of a ZCsequence have low cross-correlation, which allows the impact of aninterfering signal to be evenly spread in the time-domain, aftercorrelating the received signal with a desired ZC sequence. In generalthis allows for more reliable detection of a desired channel.

Typically, channel sounding symbols scheduled at a same time fordifferent SSs are configured to be orthogonal when the channel soundingsymbols are assigned to a same channel. That is, when multiple SSs arescheduled to transmit channel sounding symbols over the same channel(i.e., group of subcarriers), the scheduled channel sounding symbols foreach of the multiple SSs are configured as code division multiplexed(CDM) sequences. The CDM sequences may be generated by cyclic shift ofone or more base sequences. In general, a length of the cyclic shift maybe based on a typical time delay spread associated with the SSs in acell. For example, in a wireless communication system having a typicaltime delay spread of five microseconds and a sampling frequency of 7.68MHz, a cyclic shift of forty may be employed. The CDM sequences may be,for example, CAZAC sequences, generated in a number of ways, which arenot particularly relevant to the present disclosure and, as such, is notdiscussed further herein.

In general, a length of an RS (r_(u)(n)) is determined by a length of adiscrete Fourier transform (DFT), e.g., a fast Fourier transform (FFT),that is used for the RS (i.e., the number of subcarriers employed). Forexample, when an RS is assigned one resource block (e.g., twelvesubcarriers in the frequency-domain), eleven basis sequences may begenerated using a cyclic extension approach, i.e., r_(u)(n), 0≤u≤10,0≤n≤NFFT−1, where NFFT is the size of the DFT. From each basis, twelveorthogonal sequences may be generated using a cyclic shift in thefrequency-domain. An uplink transmitter of an SS may implement one of aphase shift keying (PSK), a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), orother data modulation scheme, depending upon which modulation scheme isscheduled. It should be appreciated that any of the various PSK, e.g.,pi/2 BPSK, QPSK and 8-PSK, or QAM, e.g., 16-QAM and 64-QAM, modulationtechniques may be implemented in a wireless communication systemconstructed according to the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated that the time period over which an SS isscheduled to transmit a sounding RS should generally be less than acoherence time of a UL shared channel (i.e., a time over which the ULshared channel is stable). Moreover, a bandwidth assigned to thesounding RS should include enough subcarriers such that code divisionmultiplexing can be employed for the sounding RSs transmitted by the SSs(for example, twelve subcarriers are typically required to implement CDMfor the UL channel). The channel sounding symbols transmitted by thedifferent SSs should usually be orthogonal, such that multiple SSs cantransmit sounding RSs simultaneously over the same channel (group ofsubcarriers) without interference. A serving BS can then receive therespective sounding RSs transmitted by respective SSs and accuratelydetermine channel characteristics based on the received sounding RSs.

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, uplink (UL)channel sounding signaling techniques are employed that generally reducescheduling overhead associated with sounding a UL shared channel of awireless communication system. The UL channel sounding techniquesfacilitate sounding across an entire physical uplink shared controlchannel (PUSCH) of a UL channel irrespective of the number of RBs in thePUSCH (whether all RBs of the PUSCH are sounded will depend upon anassigned sounding bandwidth and a number of RBs in the PUSCH). Forexample, a UL having a bandwidth of 20 MHz may include a wide variety ofRBs (e.g., 110 RBs, 100 RBs, or 97 RBs) in a PUSCH that requiresounding, depending on a duplex spacing and how many RBs are assigned toa physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

The techniques disclosed herein may be advantageously employed in a widevariety of communication systems where a bandwidth of an uplink sharedcontrol channel changes (expands or contracts) over time on asemi-static basis (e.g., as a bandwidth requirement for an uplinkcontrol channel changes). The disclosed techniques are contemplated tobe applicable to systems that employ a variety of signaling techniques(e.g., orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM), single-carrierfrequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), etc.) on a communicationchannel (e.g., a UL channel). In general, to support channel dependentUL scheduling and closed-loop power control, it is usually desirable tosound an entire UL shared channel bandwidth.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a scheduler isconfigured to periodically assign (on a semi-static basis) multiplesounding bandwidths (e.g., two different sounding bandwidths awide-bandwidth RS and a narrow-bandwidth RS)) for a UL shared channeland a total bandwidth of a UL shared channel. In addition to schedulingthe multiple sounding bandwidths and the total bandwidth, the scheduleris configured to assign an initial starting point index and a soundingbandwidth for an RS. For example, the scheduler may determine a totalnumber of starting point indices (Ncc) as follows:N _(SP)=floor(N _(SCH) /N _(BWI))where N_(SCH) is the number of RBs in the UL shared channel and N_(BWI)is the number of RBs in a first sounding bandwidth (e.g., a narrowestsounding bandwidth). Starting point RBs (i_(SP)) may then be determinedas follows:i _(SP)=floor(k*(N _(SCH) /N _(SP)))where k is the starting point index (k is an element of (0, 1, . . . ,N_(SP)−1). In this case, an SS is configured to sound a UL sharedchannel starting at an RB associated with an initial starting pointindex (provided by the scheduler and transmitted by a serving BS) andaccording to an assigned hopping pattern (HP).

The SS then sounds across the entire UL shared channel (or a configuredportion of the UL shared channel) by hopping from one starting point RBto a next starting point RB (e.g., the SS may hop from consecutivestarting point RBs). In at least one embodiment, the SS determines aninitial starting point RB based on a narrowest sounding bandwidth anddetermines other starting point RBs based on an assigned soundingbandwidth (i.e., the SS re-calculates the total number of startingpoints based on the assigned sounding bandwidth). In at least one otherembodiment, the SS determines the initial starting point RB based on anassigned sounding bandwidth and determines other starting point RBsbased on the assigned sounding bandwidth.

As one example, assuming that an uplink shared channel includesone-hundred RBs (i.e., N_(SCH)=100) and a sounding bandwidth includestwelve RBs (i.e., N_(BWI)=12), a total number of starting point indices(N_(SP)) is equal to eight (i.e., floor(100/12)=floor(8.5)). In thiscase, the starting point indices range from zero to seven (i.e., k is anelement of (0, 1, . . . 7)). Assuming an initial starting point index ofthree, a sounding bandwidth of twelve RBs and that indices areincremented in order (i.e., k=3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 0, 1, 2), the initialstarting point RB is thirty-seven (i.e.,i_(SP)=floor(3*(100/8))=floor(37.5)=37). A second starting point RB isfifty (i.e., i_(SP)=floor(4*(100/8))=floor(50)=50) and a third startingpoint RB is sixty-two (i.e., i_(SP)=floor(5*(100/8))=floor(62.5)=62). Afourth starting point RB is seventy-five (i.e.,i_(SP)=floor(6*(100/8))=floor(75)=75) and a fifth starting point RB iseighty-seven (i.e., i_(SP)=floor(7*(100/8))=floor(87.5)=87). A sixthstarting point RB is zero (i.e., i_(SP)=floor(0*(100/8))=floor(0)=0) anda seventh starting point RB is twelve (i.e.,i_(SP)=floor(1*(100/8))=floor(12.5)=12). An eighth (and final) startingpoint RB is twenty-five (i.e., i_(SP)=floor(2*(100/8))=floor(25)=25). Inthis case, the SS transmits a sounding RS on RBs 0-11, 12-23, 25-36,37-48, 50-61, 62-73, 75-86, and 87-98 and skips RBs 24, 49, 74, and 99.

While in this case there are holes in the UL shared channel that are notsounded, in a typical case, a channel quality of the RBs associated withthe holes may be adequately estimated based on adjacent RBs that aresounded as the holes are distributed across the UL shared channel. Forexample, a channel quality of an RB associated with a hole may beestimated based on an average of the channel quality of the RBs onopposite sides of the RB associated with the hole. In the case of eightstarting point indices, three control bits are required to signal whichof the starting point indices is the initial starting point index. Itshould be appreciated that the number of control bits required to signalan initial starting point index is based on a total number of startingpoint indices. For example, in a system that employs two starting pointindices, only one control bit is required to signal an initial startingpoint index. As another example, in a system that employs four startingpoint indices, only two control bits are required to signal an initialstarting point index.

As another example, assuming that a UL shared channel includesone-hundred RBs (i.e., N_(SCH)=100) and a sounding bandwidth includessixteen RBs (i.e., N_(BWI)=16), the total number of starting pointindices (N_(SP)) is equal to six (i.e., floor(100/16)=floor(6.25)). Inthis case, the starting point indices range from zero to five (i.e., kis an element of (0, 1, . . . 5)). Assuming an initial starting pointindex of three and that indices are incremented in order (i.e., k=3, 4,5, 0, 1, 2), the initial starting point RB is fifty (i.e.,i_(SP)=floor(3*(100/6))=floor(50)=50). A second starting point RB issixty-six (i.e., i_(SP)=floor(4*(100/6))=floor(66.67)=66) and a thirdstarting point RB is eighty-three (i.e.,i_(SP)=floor(5*(100/6))=floor(83.33)=83). A fourth starting point RB iszero (i.e., i_(SP)=floor(0*(100/6))=floor(0)=0) and a fifth startingpoint RB is sixteen (i.e., i_(SP)=floor(1*(100/6))=floor(16.67)=16). Asixth (and final) starting point RB is thirty-three (i.e.,i_(SP)=floor(2*(100/6))=floor(33.33)=33). In this case, the SS transmitsa sounding RS on RBs 0-15, 16-31, 33-48, 50-65, 66-81, and 83-98 andskips RBs 32, 49, 82, and 99. While in this case there are also holes inthe UL shared channel that are not sounded, in a typical case, a channelquality of the RBs associated with the holes may also be adequatelyestimated based on adjacent RBs that are sounded. In the case of sixstarting point indices, three control bits are required to signal whichof the starting point indices is the initial starting point index.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a technique foroperating a wireless communication device (e.g., an SS) includesreceiving an assigned starting point index and an assigned referencesignal bandwidth for a reference signal. The reference signal is thentransmitted multiple times, beginning at an initial resource block thatis associated with the assigned starting point index and in accordancewith the assigned reference signal bandwidth across a shared channel.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a techniquefor operating a wireless communication device (e.g., a BS) includestransmitting an assigned starting point index and an assigned referencesignal bandwidth for a reference signal. The reference signal is thenreceived multiple times, beginning at an initial resource block that isassociated with the assigned starting point index and in accordance withthe assigned reference signal bandwidth across a shared channel.

According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, awireless communication device includes a scheduler coupled to atransceiver. The scheduler is configured to assign a starting pointindex and an assigned reference signal bandwidth for a reference signal.The transceiver is configured to transmit the assigned starting pointindex and the assigned reference signal bandwidth for the referencesignal. The transceiver is also configured to receive, beginning at aninitial resource block that is associated with the assigned startingpoint index and in accordance with the assigned reference signalbandwidth, the reference signal multiple times.

With reference to FIG. 1, an example UL channel 100 for an SS includes aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) 102 that is separated by aphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) 104 (i.e., portions of the PUCCH102 are at opposite ends of the UL channel). As previously noted, the SSis configured to transmit sounding RSs to a serving BS such that ascheduler may determine which RBs to assign to the SS for ULcommunication. As noted above, a total number of RBs assigned to a ULchannel are semi-static (i.e., do not change for a relatively long timeperiod). While the total number of RBs assigned to a UL channel 100 aresemi-static, RBs assigned to the PUCCH 102 (and conversely the PUSCH104) may frequently change based on operational requirements of awireless communication system.

In various situations, it is desirable to only sound the PUSCH 104 (asopposed to sounding both the PUSCH 104 and the PUCCH 102). As notedabove, the number of RBs assigned to a UL channel may not be consistentfor a given system bandwidth. For example, as noted above, a 20 MHzsystem bandwidth may correspond to 97 RBs, 100 RBs, or 110 RBs. Asanother example, a 5 MHz system bandwidth may correspond to 22 RBs, 25RBs, or 28 RBs. In the UL channel 100, eight starting point indices 110are illustrated. It should be noted that a number of holes 114(including RBs that are not sounded) are illustrated. Depending upon thenumber of RBs in a UL shared channel and the number of RBs in a soundingRS, the holes 114 may or may not be present.

When the holes 114 are present, the holes 114 are distributed across thePUSCH 104 (a fractional part of an RB accumulates similar to a frac-Nsynthesizer) when starting point indices are calculated based on theabove formula. As noted above, a scheduler is configured to assign (on asemi-static basis) multiple sounding bandwidths (e.g., two differentsounding bandwidths (i.e., a wide-bandwidth RS and a narrow-bandwidthRS) for a UL channel and a total bandwidth of a UL channel. Betweenchanging the multiple sounding bandwidths and the total bandwidth, whenchannel sounding is warranted (e.g., when the PUCCH 102 is expanded orcontracted), the scheduler is configured to assign an initial startingpoint index and a selected sounding bandwidth for a sounding RS.

In response to receiving the initial starting point index and theselected sounding bandwidth, the SS proceeds with sounding the PUSCH 104(from the initial starting point index) according to an assigned hoppingpattern. The SS may, for example, sound the entire PUSCH 104 or aconfigured portion of the PUSCH 104. For example, if a portion of thePUSCH 104 is only assigned to voice communication (as contrasted withbeing assigned to data communication or voice and data communication),the portion of the PUSCH 104 that is only assigned to voicecommunication may not be sounded (in this case, a desired voice qualitymay be achieved by, for example, frequency diversity using hopping).

With reference to FIG. 2, an example UL channel 200 for an SS includes aPUCCH 202 and a PUSCH 204. As previously noted, the SS is configured totransmit sounding RSs to a serving BS such that a scheduler maydetermine which RBs to assign to the SS for UL communication. As notedabove, a total number of RBs assigned to the UL channel 200 aresemi-static (i.e., do not change for a relatively long time period).While the total number of RBs assigned to the UL channel 200 aresemi-static, RBs assigned to the PUCCH 202 (and conversely the PUSCH204) may change based on operational requirements of a wirelesscommunication system.

In the UL channel 200 illustrated in FIG. 2, six starting point indices210 are illustrated in the PUSCH 204. As noted above, a scheduler isconfigured to assign (on a semi-static basis) multiple soundingbandwidths for a UL channel and a total bandwidth of a UL sharedchannel. Between changing the multiple sounding bandwidths and the totalbandwidth, when channel sounding is warranted (e.g., when the PUCCH 202is expanded or contracted), the scheduler is configured to assign aninitial starting point index and a selected sounding bandwidth for asounding RS. In response to receiving the initial starting point indexand the selected sounding bandwidth, the SS proceeds with sounding thePUSCH 204 (from the initial starting point index) according to anassigned hopping pattern. The SS may, for example, sound the entirePUSCH 204 or a configured portion of the PUSCH 204.

With reference to FIG. 3, an example UL channel 300 for an SS includes aPUCCH 302 and a PUSCH 304. As previously noted, the SS is configured totransmit sounding RSs to a serving BS such that a scheduler maydetermine which RBs to assign to the SS for UL communication. As notedabove, a total number of RBs assigned to a UL channel 300 aresemi-static. While the total number of RBs assigned to the UL channel300 are semi-static, RBs assigned to the PUCCH 302 (and conversely thePUSCH 304) may change based on operational requirements of a wirelesscommunication system. Moreover, the number of RBs assigned to a ULshared channel may not be consistent for a given system bandwidth. Inthe UL channel 300, ten starting point indices 310 are illustrated. Asnoted above, a scheduler is configured to assign (on a semi-staticbasis) multiple sounding bandwidths for a UL channel and a totalbandwidth of a UL shared channel. Between changing the multiple soundingbandwidths and the total bandwidth, when channel sounding is warranted(e.g., when the PUCCH 302 is expanded or contracted), the scheduler isconfigured to assign an initial starting point index and a selectedsounding bandwidth for a sounding RS. In response to receiving theinitial starting point index and the selected sounding bandwidth, the SSproceeds with sounding the PUSCH 304 (from the initial starting pointindex) according to an assigned hopping pattern. The SS may, forexample, sound the entire PUSCH 304 or a configured portion of the PUSCH304.

Turning to FIG. 4, a channel sounding process 400, that may be employedin an SS of a wireless communication system, is depicted. The process400 is initiated at block 402, at which point control transfers todecision block 404. In block 404, the SS determines whether a newsemi-static allocation has occurred. If a new semi-static allocation isnot received in block 404, control transfers to block 408. If a newsemi-static allocation occurs in block 404, control transfers to block406. In block 406, the new semi-static allocation, which includes anumber of indicators (e.g., of a total number of resource blocks (RBs)in a UL shared channel, a first channel sounding bandwidth, a secondchannel sounding bandwidth, etc.), is received. It should be appreciatedthat the new semi-static allocation may be received in one or moretransmissions.

Next, in block 408, the SS receives an assigned starting point index andan assigned RS bandwidth for an RS (e.g., from a scheduler associatedwith a serving BS). Then, in block 410, the SS determines an initial RBthat is associated with the assigned starting point index and beginstransmitting (e.g., across a UL shared channel) the reference signal inaccordance with the assigned reference signal bandwidth until the ULshared channel is substantially sounded. Depending on the assigned RSbandwidth and a total number of RBs in the UL shared channel, holes insounding coverage may be distributed across the UL shared channel.Following block 410, control transfers to block 412, where controlreturns to a calling process.

Turning to FIG. 5, a channel sounding process 500, that may be employedin a serving BS of a wireless communication system, is depicted. Theprocess 500 is initiated at block 502, at which point control transfersto decision block 504. In block 504, the serving BS determines whether anew semi-static allocation is received. If a new semi-static allocationis not received in block 504, control transfers to block 508. If a newsemi-static allocation is received in block 504, control transfers toblock 506. In block 506, the new semi-static allocation, which includesa number of indicators (e.g., of a total number of RBs in a UL sharedchannel, a first channel sounding bandwidth, a second channel soundingbandwidth, etc.), is received from a scheduler and transmitted in one ormore symbols. Next, in block 508, the serving BS receives an assignedstarting point index and an assigned reference signal bandwidth for areference signal (e.g., from a scheduler associated with the serving BS)and transmits the information to the SS. Then, in block 510, the servingBS receives (e.g., across the UL shared channel) the RS in accordancewith the assigned RS bandwidth.

When the RS is a sounding RS, a scheduler associated with the BS mayutilize the sounding RS to assign a UL channel to the SS based on achannel quality associated with the sounding RS for different RB groups.That is, the scheduler utilizes the sounding RS to determine whichsounded RBs provide, for example, a desired channel quality. As notedabove, a channel quality associated with RBs that are not sounded may beestimated based on adjacent RBs that are sounded. The channel qualityfor RBs that are not sounded may be, for example, estimated based on anaverage channel quality of adjacent RBs or may be determined throughinterpolation of adjacent RBs on opposite sides of the RBs that are notsounded. Depending on the assigned RS bandwidth and a total number ofRBs in a shared channel, holes in sounding coverage may be distributedacross the shared channel. Following block 510, control transfers toblock 512, where control returns to a calling process.

With reference to FIG. 6, an example wireless communication system 600is depicted that includes a plurality of subscriber stations or wirelessdevices 602, e.g., hand-held computers, personal digital assistants(PDAs), cellular telephones, etc., that may implement communicationlinks according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Ingeneral, the wireless devices 602 include a processor 608 (e.g., adigital signal processor (DSP)), a transceiver 606, and one or moreinput/output devices 604 (e.g., a camera, a keypad, display, etc.),among other components not shown in FIG. 6. As is noted above, accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure, techniques aredisclosed that generally reduce overhead (e.g., control bits) associatedwith signaling reference signals. The wireless devices 602 communicatewith a base station controller (BSC) 612 of a base station subsystem(BSS) 610, via one or more base transceiver stations (BTS) 614, toreceive or transmit voice and/or data and control signals. To facilitatecommunication, the wireless devices 602 may execute the process 400 ofFIG. 4 and the BSC 612 may execute the process 500 of FIG. 5. The BSC612 may, for example, employ a scheduler for assigning one or more RSsto each of the wireless devices 602. In general, the BSC 612 may also beconfigured to choose a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for each ofthe devices 602, based on channel conditions.

The BSC 612 is also in communication with a packet control unit (PCU)616, which is in communication with a serving general packet radioservice (GPRS) support node (SGSN) 622. The SGSN 622 is in communicationwith a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 624, both of which are includedwithin a GPRS core network 620. The GGSN 624 provides access tocomputer(s) 626 coupled to Internet/intranet 628. In this manner, thewireless devices 602 may receive data from and/or transmit data tocomputers coupled to the Internet/intranet 628. For example, when thedevices 602 include a camera, images may be transferred to a computer626 coupled to the Internet/intranet 628 or to another one of thedevices 602. The BSC 612 is also in communication with a mobileswitching center/visitor location register (MSC/VLR) 634, which is incommunication with a home location register (HLR), an authenticationcenter (AUC), and an equipment identity register (EIR) 632. In a typicalimplementation, the MSC/VLR 634 and the HLR, AUC, and EIR 632 arelocated within a network and switching subsystem (NSS) 630, whichperforms various functions for the system 600. The SGSN 622 maycommunicate directly with the HLR, AUC, and EIR 632. As is also shown,the MSC/VLR 634 is in communication with a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) 642, which facilitates communication between wirelessdevices 602 and land telephone(s) 640.

As used herein, a software system can include one or more objects,agents, threads, subroutines, separate software applications, two ormore lines of code or other suitable software structures operating inone or more separate software applications, on one or more differentprocessors, or other suitable software architectures.

As will be appreciated, the processes in preferred embodiments of thepresent invention may be implemented using any combination of computerprogramming software, firmware or hardware. As a preparatory step topracticing the invention in software, the computer programming code(whether software or firmware) according to a preferred embodiment willtypically be stored in one or more machine readable storage mediums suchas fixed (hard) drives, diskettes, optical disks, magnetic tape,semiconductor memories such as read-only memories (ROMs), programmableROMs (PROMs), etc., thereby making an article of manufacture inaccordance with the invention. The article of manufacture containing thecomputer programming code is used by either executing the code directlyfrom the storage device or by copying the code from the storage deviceinto another storage device such as a hard disk, random access memory(RAM), etc. The method form of the invention may be practiced bycombining one or more machine-readable storage devices containing thecode according to the present invention with appropriate standardcomputer hardware to execute the code contained therein. An apparatusfor practicing the invention could be one or more processors and storagesystems containing or network access to computer program(s) coded inaccordance with the invention.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to specificembodiments, various modifications and changes can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as set forth in theclaims below. For example, many of the techniques disclosed herein arebroadly applicable to a variety of reference signals employed inwireless communication systems. Accordingly, the specification andfigures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense, and all such modifications are intended to be included with thescope of the present invention. Any benefits, advantages, or solution toproblems that are described herein with regard to specific embodimentsare not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essentialfeature or element of any or all the claims.

Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used toarbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus,these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or otherprioritization of such elements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A network node, comprising: a processor; and atransceiver coupled to the processor; wherein the processor andtransceiver are configured to receive and/or transmit voice and/or dataand control signals, and wherein the processor and transceiver areconfigured to: transmit a semi-static allocation which includes aplurality of sounding reference signal bandwidths within a physicaluplink shared channel; select a first assigned sounding reference signalbandwidth from the plurality of sounding reference signal bandwidths;transmit at a first time, when channel sounding is warranted and aftertransmitting the configuration, first information corresponding to afirst assigned starting point index and the first assigned soundingreference signal bandwidth selected from the plurality of soundingreference signal bandwidths, wherein a first resource block isassociated with the first assigned starting point index; receive a firstsounding reference signal in accordance with the first assigned startingpoint index and the first assigned sounding reference signal bandwidth;select a second assigned sounding reference signal bandwidth from theplurality of sounding reference signal bandwidths; transmit at a secondtime, when channel sounding is warranted and after the first time,second information corresponding to a second assigned starting pointindex and the second assigned sounding reference signal bandwidthselected from the plurality of sounding reference signal bandwidths,wherein a second resource block is associated with the second assignedstarting point index; and receive a second sounding reference signal inaccordance with the second assigned starting point index and the secondassigned sounding reference signal bandwidth.
 2. The network node ofclaim 1, wherein the processor and transceiver are further configuredto: receive a third sounding reference signal, wherein the second andthird sounding reference signals are received in accordance with ahopping pattern.
 3. The network node of claim 2, wherein each frequencyhopped reference signal is within a configured portion of the physicaluplink shared channel, wherein the configured portion of the physicaluplink shared channel excludes one or more resource blocks of thephysical uplink shared channel.
 4. The network node of claim 2, whereina starting point for the third sounding reference signal is determinedbased, at least in part, on the second assigned sounding referencesignal bandwidth.
 5. The network node of claim 1, wherein the physicaluplink shared channel is less than a total uplink bandwidth.
 6. Thenetwork node of claim 1, wherein the processor and transceiver arefurther configured to: transmit a second semi-static allocation, at athird time after the second time, wherein the second semi-staticallocation includes a second plurality of sounding reference signalbandwidths within the physical uplink shared channel.
 7. The networknode of claim 1, wherein the physical uplink shared channel isconfigured to: expand based on a contraction of an uplink controlchannel; and contract based on an expansion of the uplink controlchannel; wherein the physical uplink shared channel and the uplinkcontrol channel are included in an uplink channel.
 8. A non-transitorycomputer readable memory medium storing program instructions executableby a processor of a network node to: transmit a semi-static allocationwhich includes a plurality of sounding reference signal bandwidthswithin a physical uplink shared channel; select a first assignedsounding reference signal bandwidth from the plurality of soundingreference signal bandwidths; transmit at a first time, when channelsounding is warranted and after transmitting the configuration, firstinformation corresponding to a first assigned starting point index andthe first assigned sounding reference signal bandwidth selected from theplurality of sounding reference signal bandwidths, wherein a firstresource block is associated with the first assigned starting pointindex; receive a first sounding reference signal in accordance with thefirst assigned starting point index and the first assigned soundingreference signal bandwidth; select a second assigned sounding referencesignal bandwidth from the plurality of sounding reference signalbandwidths; transmit at a second time, when channel sounding iswarranted and after the first time, second information corresponding toa second assigned starting point index and the second assigned soundingreference signal bandwidth selected from the plurality of soundingreference signal bandwidths, wherein a second resource block isassociated with the second assigned starting point index; and receive asecond sounding reference signal in accordance with the second assignedstarting point index and the second assigned sounding reference signalbandwidth.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable memory medium ofclaim 8, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:receive a third sounding reference signal, wherein the second and thirdsounding reference signals are received in accordance with a hoppingpattern.
 10. The non-transitory computer readable memory medium of claim9, wherein each frequency hopped reference signal is within a configuredportion of the physical uplink shared channel, wherein the configuredportion of the physical uplink shared channel excludes one or moreresource blocks of the physical uplink shared channel.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer readable memory medium of claim 9, wherein astarting point for the third sounding reference signal is determinedbased, at least in part, on the second assigned sounding referencesignal bandwidth.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable memory mediumof claim 8, wherein the physical uplink shared channel is less than atotal uplink bandwidth.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable memorymedium of claim 8, wherein the program instructions are furtherexecutable to: transmit a second semi-static allocation, at a third timeafter the second time, wherein the second semi-static allocationincludes a second plurality of sounding reference signal bandwidthswithin the physical uplink shared channel.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer readable memory medium of claim 8, wherein the physical uplinkshared channel is configured to: expand based on a contraction of anuplink control channel; and contract based on an expansion of the uplinkcontrol channel; wherein the physical uplink shared channel and theuplink control channel are included in an uplink channel.
 15. Anapparatus, comprising: a memory; and a processor in communication withthe memory, wherein the processor is configured to: transmit asemi-static allocation which includes a plurality of sounding referencesignal bandwidths within a physical uplink shared channel; select afirst assigned sounding reference signal bandwidth from the plurality ofsounding reference signal bandwidths; transmit at a first time, whenchannel sounding is warranted and after transmitting the configuration,first information corresponding to a first assigned starting point indexand the first assigned sounding reference signal bandwidth selected fromthe plurality of sounding reference signal bandwidths, wherein a firstresource block is associated with the first assigned starting pointindex; receive a first sounding reference signal in accordance with thefirst assigned starting point index and the first assigned soundingreference signal bandwidth; select a second assigned sounding referencesignal bandwidth from the plurality of sounding reference signalbandwidths; transmit at a second time, when channel sounding iswarranted and after the first time, second information corresponding toa second assigned starting point index and the second assigned soundingreference signal bandwidth selected from the plurality of soundingreference signal bandwidths, wherein a second resource block isassociated with the second assigned starting point index; and receive asecond sounding reference signal in accordance with the second assignedstarting point index and the second assigned sounding reference signalbandwidth.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: receive a third sounding reference signal,wherein the second and third sounding reference signals are received inaccordance with a hopping pattern.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16,wherein each frequency hopped reference signal is within a configuredportion of the physical uplink shared channel, wherein the configuredportion of the physical uplink shared channel excludes one or moreresource blocks of the physical uplink shared channel.
 18. The apparatusof claim 16, wherein a starting point for the third sounding referencesignal is determined based, at least in part, on the second assignedsounding reference signal bandwidth.
 19. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein the physical uplink shared channel is less than a total uplinkbandwidth.
 20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: transmit a second semi-static allocation, at athird time after the second time, wherein the second semi-staticallocation includes a second plurality of sounding reference signalbandwidths within the physical uplink shared channel.